


TOW They Finally Understand

by itsafour



Category: Friends;
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-28 05:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10824918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsafour/pseuds/itsafour
Summary: The gang had a hard time taking Monica and Chandler's relationship seriously, but as soon as they saw how committed they were to each other, opinions changed. Mondler being cute and proving their love through their friends' perspectives. Set on random moments from season 5 to the finale.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, I always felt like the rest of the gang had a hard time taking Monica and Chandler's relationship seriously, but they eventually did it because of things they ended up witnessing. At the risk of sounding too cheesy, let's say that there are several "proofs of love" along the course of their relationship, and the idea here is to show how each one of the friends reacted to a particular "proof of love" and how that changed the way they saw the couple.
> 
> It's a series, yes HAHA I don't know if I'm ready for that, but here I go. Since we have four friends, and two people in the relationship, there will be 8 chapters – each friend with a chapter reacting to something Monica did and a chapter reacting to something Chandler did. I'm very excited so I believe the updates won't take long. I hope you can enjoy this. :3

Chapter 1: Joey

Monica & the Sex Addiction

Joey was just finishing his fried chicken skin bucket all by himself since everybody had left. Why the others didn't want the rest of the chicken was beyond him. Wow, that had been quite a day. After covering up for Chandler and Monica's secret relationship, and consequently having his name dragged through the mud by the whole underwear-in-other-people's-home/video-camera/nude-picture extravaganza, he managed to throw everybody off by telling them it was all Monica's fault after she slept with him. He was quite proud of his sexual endeavors, but he knew the girls didn't think about sleeping with him as a regular normal thing – the shocked look on their faces was proof of that, and the disgusted face on Ross just a plus.

Joey almost outted the couple; he really couldn't take any more of the lying and sneaking around, but seeing their pleading eyes silently begging him to protect the secret did it for him. And, of course, since he was at the sharp end of it all to the point of being called sicko, accusing Monica of a sex-addiction-guy-stalking-post-sleeping-with-joey craze felt like some sort of revenge. He wasn't so happy about that though, as he noticed how his enamored friends were trying their hardest not to let the pained look on their faces show.

Joey really tried to understand why they needed the affair to be a secret, and after just shrugging it off as their friends being weird, he actually started to understand. It seemed that whatever it was they had going on was really precious to them, and even though they sucked at hiding, they were willing to do anything to keep that to themselves. Monica going along with the sex addiction thing was proof enough. He almost couldn't believe she just took that on herself in front of all her friends. She'd done some crazy stuff, but he knew she was always worried about saving face; letting her closest friends think those things about her, especially because those were all untrue, was really something.

He grabbed his keys to get out of the apartment 19, carrying the bucket to throw it out on the way to the coffeehouse. Joey wasn't the type of fella to dwell on many things, however he was intrigued. Ever since he found out about those two, he was surprised by all the sounds he could hear coming from Chandler's room. He always believed Monica was heavily sexually charged, but it was almost uncomfortable hearing how loud she could get whenever she and Chandler were doing it. For a while, he figured that was all: they were doing it. After a while, he noticed the sounds coming from his roommate's room weren't all sexual. They sometimes sounded like casual talking (that would last for hours), or just some cute little noises coming from both of them (he didn't want to picture Chandler making those noises though), and even though he couldn't see their faces, he could tell how happy they were. Joey still thought they were just having fun, up until that day. Monica taking all the accusations silently just for the sake of the secret might look like something silly, but he knew her well enough to know it actually meant a lot.

Joey could finally understand why they had to keep that to themselves. Sharing it with everybody would probably ruin what they were still trying to figure out. Somehow, he thought, I don't feel like they're breaking up anytime soon. If Monica was willing to do that because of the risk of jeopardizing a relationship that was pretty much in the beginning, she would probably be willing to do much more to be with Chandler later on. She probably liked him a lot already.

All these thoughts filled his head on the way down, and when he got to the coffeehouse, oh look, it's the happy couple, completely oblivious to his arrival. He took a moment to look at them. They were talking to each other extremely closely, whispering in each other's ear, giggling like high school sweethearts. Monica's hand rested on Chandler's thigh, and every time he said something, she would squeeze it slightly. Chandler's arm was protectively around Monica's shoulders. It's crazy how they fit, who would've thought. They looked really cute, as if nothing stressful at all had happened just an hour earlier. Joey found himself smiling at the scene, but soon reminded himself that they were being too careless again by behaving all cuddly in public like that. Didn't they have any self-control?

Maybe he, too, was getting protective of their relationship. Assuming his father-like mode, he was ready for some scolding.

"You guys!", he whined, "after all that happened today, you're still not being careful!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Joey

Chandler & Moving In Together

Joey felt like a jerk when he realized he never expected this day to come. Chandler was his best friend, he loved the guy, he was totally able to see his good qualities, but if Joey was to be honest, he never really expected Chandler to be moving in with a girl. When he thought about the future, he always imagined him being the one to say goodbye to a bitter lonely Chandler. He didn't mean to see things this way – Chandler was the one constantly talking about how he would die alone, so Joey just believed him. Surely, they both couldn't be any more wrong.

After a year had passed, Chandler was for the first time ever celebrating an anniversary with a significant other. That was unusual in itself. To top that off, he'd had announced he would be moving out. To live together. With Monica.

If he was being honest here, the things crossing Joey's mind were the following: first dude, I can't believe I'm not gonna live with my best friend anymore!, the second one being is he really okay with that?

Later on, they talked, and Joey visibly gasped when he learned that not only Chandler was okay with the moving thing – he'd been the one suggesting it!

Even after knowing that, Joey was still skeptical. He really wanted to support this new level of his friends' relationship, but he kept expecting something to throw Chandler off. All the fights over a spare room seemed to almost ruin everything, but in the end, they just did it. They moved in together. It was still too out of place, in his opinion; he thought that maybe Chandler was still enjoying the spur-of-the-moment proposal and that any time soon he would come back to his normal self and just freak out. It isn't until one moment when Joey walks into them, in their home, one week after the moving, that he understands this is for the long run.

Chandler had tried to clean everything up a couple of days earlier, followed by a freak out about moving Monica's stuff around and waking the beast inside the tiny woman. He was so scared of pissing her off it was funny at the moment, but now, after some time had passed and things were back to normal, Joey allowed himself to look at his surroundings. Very small changes were already visible in the living room, Chandler's things already occupying the now shared space. Not only that, he noticed some things seemed shinier. Chandler had been the one to clean those things, just because he wanted to do something nice for his girlfriend. More than anything, what surprised Joey the most was how comfortable they looked in their place.

Chandler was sitting at the table, getting breakfast while reading his newspaper and Monica was making more pancakes as she knew the rest of their group would eventually show up. Seeing Chandler there, knowing that he slept in that place, woke up and showered in that place, and had that very serene expression on his face while getting ready for work almost made it seem like he always belonged there. He was so calm about sharing an apartment with a woman it nearly seemed like all the despair about commitment he used to sport had been a big joke. Everything looked so right, Joey was speechless.

"You okay, Joe?", his best friend's voice resonated through him, bringing him back to life.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Monica served her boyfriend an extra pancake without asking if he wanted more, an action followed by a soft thank you from the man. The intimacy was tangible. The moving in together felt right. Chandler was being the committed guy in the group. He had turned into the committed guy against all odds because of her. He must really love her, Joey concluded.

"You sure you're alright, man?" Chandler insisted, not knowing what was going on with his usually energetic friend.

"Yeah, everything's perfect."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Rachel

Chandler & the Proposal

When Rachel entered Monica and Chandler's apartment, she saw three of her friends lighting what looked like a hundred candles. Phoebe and Joey were smiling like crazy, and Monica had tears in her eyes, but she could tell at one look that those were happy tears.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?"

"Chandler is going to propose!" Monica practically shouted, walking towards her best friend, being followed by the other two.

"Oh, my God, I know, I'm so happy for you!" Rachel was about to hug Monica when she realized something was wrong "Wait! You're not supposed to know that! You guys, what are you doing?", she hissed at them.

"Rach, I had to tell her!", Joey looked like he was almost crying too.

"Okay, you help us light all these candles and I'll explain," Monica demanded and Rachel started helping with their work.

The woman was completely able to tell a story while doing something else, so as she handed Rachel fire and went back to the candles she was lighting before, she recollected the events of day. Everything seemed to have happened in a blink of an eye. Monica came back from Richard's, of all places, devastated for believing Chandler didn't want to ever marry her. Joey was already looking for her, so when they met he desperately told her about Chandler's plan. Monica was laughing and crying at the same time, if that's possible at all, while telling the story and swiftly lighting candles, asking everybody to hurry so that they could finish everything before Chandler came back. By learning about Richard's sudden confession, Rachel wondered if that would make Monica shift her feelings and consider leaving Chandler; seeing how excited she was to know her boyfriend wanted to marry her made the thought disappear quickly – Rachel even felt ashamed for thinking something like that in the first place, even if it crossed her mind for a second or two.

_________________

When they were done, Phoebe, Rachel and Joey left apartment 20, getting inside apartment 19 to wait for Chandler's comeback. A new plan emerged: Joey would have a trash bag in hand to look like he had a reason to go out, leaving the apartment when hearing footsteps and pretending to just bump into Chandler. He would tell Chandler Monica had left, heartbroken, which would lead to Chandler opening the door to his apartment and finding the woman there, waiting for him – a big surprise. Rachel chuckled at how mean it sounded, knowing the outcome would make up for it.

"Why is he taking so long?" Phoebe was impatient.

"He's probably getting his ass kicked by Richard", Joey announced, his ear glued to the door.

"What?!" Rachel couldn't believe that. He had gone to Richard's? Did Monica know that? She hadn't mentioned this part.

"Yeah, I told him Richard told Monica he wanted to marry her, and that he should go there as soon as possible, find her and stop messing with her. Monica probably left before he stopped by, so I guess there's some man to… Chandler… talking… going on. He seemed pretty mad about Richard's confession. He wanted me to help him kick his ass."

"I wonder if we'll have to call 911 before the proposal finally happens", Phoebe thought out loud, smirking.

"Shhh, you guys, shhh, I think it's him. That's my cue. Stay here, and keep quiet", the actor whispered before opening the door.

_________________

It had been a while since the door to apartment 20 had closed. Joey and Phoebe looked like little kids, excited because of a trip or something; Rachel couldn't help but smile at them. She was curious about what was going on with the couple, but also curious about Chandler and Richard's encounter.

"Um, hey, Joey. Did Chandler say anything about Richard just now?"

"I didn't really ask him, he looked pretty bad."

"How bad?"

"Well, I told him what we had planned, and I swear the guy was almost crying in front of me. He said he couldn't believe he ruined this. If I didn't know what was about to happen, I would just stop right there and tell him Monica was inside the apartment."

So Chandler had come up with a plan to surprise his girlfriend, and when things were getting out of control through no fault of his own he still blamed himself? He was almost crying because of that? Wow, he was more serious about proposing than she actually imagined.

Somehow, it was hard to picture Chandler in that place. She believed the man loved Monica, but in her mind it was much less about being in love, than it was the fact that he had a hot girlfriend and that by dating her he wouldn't die alone anymore. Moving on to living together and proposing just felt like the next step for those two, but she never imagined he would be the one with the big gestures. She didn't really think of them as two people so much in love. Maybe she had been wrong.

_________________

The rest of the night went according to plan. They both had proposed to each other, which Rachel thought was the sweetest thing ever. After that, Monica and Chandler asked for some alone time; their friends conceded with no disagreement. They spent an hour or so alone in their dark apartment lit by candles.

"I bet they're doing it," of course Joey would say that.

"Joey!" Rachel slapped his arm lightly.

_________________

When they opened the door and invited their friends over again, it wasn't long until Ross finally showed up, and the six of them were now gathered in the living room, glasses of champagne at hand.

"Okay, um, I just wanna say that… I love you guys so much and… and thank you for being here on my special night." Monica would keep talking like that if Chandler hadn't made a show of clearing his throat. "Our special night. I mean, it just wouldn't be my—our night, if you all weren't here to celebrate with me—us—damnit!"

"It's okay, I want this to be your night too." He raised his glass. "To Monica."

And everybody celebrated Monica's night.

Rachel felt her stomach knotting up for many unfamiliar reasons. She was definitely jealous; she couldn't deny that to herself anymore. Chandler had spent a lot of money getting a beautiful ring then gone through all the trouble of making up a stupid plan because he wanted to surprise Monica. It sounded as stupid as it sounded sweet. He was even willing to make himself a smaller part of the night, despite being the groom, just so Monica could feel like the star she always wanted to be. He had confronted Monica's tall ex-boyfriend when he thought she was with him, and had come back devastated when he thought he'd lost her forever.

Rachel never thought Chandler was a great catch, and she loved him and everything but, because of all his traumas and issues, she wondered sometimes if he would ever be capable of committing to anyone. The couple had been together for two years though, and everything that happened that day was proof that he indeed loved Monica very much, and would be willing to do anything to have her around and make her happy. So he was able to commit, huh?, she concluded.

They had all agreed to get dressed up and go have champagne at The Plaza. Rachel observed the betrothed couple leaving to their bedroom, a pair of huge smiles meeting, two pairs of shining blue eyes looking at each other. They were unbelievably happy and a shameful sting invaded Rachel's chest. She couldn't even imagine how good they must be feeling. They made it; they had everything they'd been looking for.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Ross

Monica & the Cheap Wedding or Monica & the Future and Stuff

Ross usually made his voice heard even when people weren't asking questions. He believed to be a guy with some sense, and he deeply loved his friends, even if he sounded harsh, so he never shied away from giving advices or scolding when necessary. This was a delicate moment though. His little sister and his best friend had just gotten engaged, and they were in heaven until having dinner with his parents and finding out that the Monica wedding fund did not exist anymore – or rather, it had become a beach house. Turns out Chandler had saved a lot of money throughout his years of boring work, money enough to give Monica wedding scenario A. Everything was solved, one would think, however, for some reason Ross couldn't fathom, his best friend refused to give away the money.

See, Ross also prides himself on being a reasonable guy, but when it comes to weddings, he's pretty much a twin to his sister. Who cares if all the money is spent? This is their wedding day! It's the most important day of their lives! They can always earn more money, but they'll only get married once. Apparently, this is exactly what Monica told Chandler, to which he replied with something about the future and stuff.

Really?

He could understand Chandler's motive, actually. They seemed to be in for the long haul, so having spare money for any future nuisances was quite reasonable too.

That's why he doesn't want to meddle. He feels like he's caught in the middle of two very good points, and he's worried about the situation. It would be terrible if something like this put a damper on their happiness.

_________________________________

"Hey, guys!" when the paleontologist entered apartment 20, he felt the air was much lighter, especially when he noticed a happy couple sharing the love seat, as if no fight over anything had ever happened. "So… you made up?" He smiled at them.

"Yes, she can't be mad at me for too long", Chandler stated dramatically, earning a good rolling of eyes from Monica.

"So, you decided to spend all of the money on the wedding?" Ross was already excited; even though it was someone else's wedding, it was a wedding anyway!

"Actually, no. We're going for the cheap wedding", Monica said casually, no sign of discomfort whatsoever on her face, which almost made Ross jump back.

"Really?" He tried really hard, god knows how hard he tried, not to sound too surprised, but the shock got the best of him.

"Yeah", Monica was smiling, bright eyes turning to look at her fiancé, who was smiling just as much. "We talked about it, and turns out the future and stuff is very important, so it's best if we just keep some money instead of spending everything."

"Yeah, what if in two years I finally find life-size Stormtroopers on sale?" Chandler's joke made Monica push him this time. "Well, I gotta go back to work. Bye, babe." He kissed the corner of her lips. "Bye, Ross." And he left the apartment.

With Chandler gone, Ross almost expected Monica to use the opportunity to vent about how sad she was and how unfair it was of Chandler not to spend all of the money; it was her dream wedding after all! He looked dumbfounded before, but seeing her walk around looking like she was floating was probably making his face look funny. It did make his face look funny, as his sister was now wearing a worried expression while looking at him.

"Ross? Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Um, listen. Um, mind if I ask you… how did he convince you?"

She smiled again. "Well, actually, he didn't try to convince me. He was willing to spend all of his savings, but then somehow the subject changed and he started talking about what he expected for the future," Her smile was so wide Ross wondered if her face didn't hurt, and her hands were frantic, crumbling a piece of fabric of her shirt as she remembered the earlier conversation "then I realized that I don't really want a big fancy wedding; I want a marriage, and for that we should keep the money after all."

"What does he expect for the future?", Ross was honestly confused.

"I don't wanna get into this, but basically he wants four kids and a house in the suburbs. The money will be very useful in the future after all. I don't want any of my kids out of college!" She pointed a finger at her brother, as if he had said anything contrary to that.

_________________________________

Ross was crossing the street, ready to get massaged up by Phoebe once he got home. He let his mind wander. It was unbelievable, really. He was already there when Monica was born; he'd lived with her the very first years of his life. He knew how much she wanted a perfect wedding, with the lilies and the band and the food and the most expensive wedding dress. She even had little wedding plays, in which she would pretend to wear a beautiful veil and walk down the made-up aisle in the Gellers' yard. It was just unbelievable that she would give that all up for a safe future with Chandler. That moment Ross felt there was something real and powerful in that relationship. He arrived at his floor, they really are in for the long haul, huh?, and reached for the doorknob.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Phoebe

Monica & the Cheap Wedding Dress

Phoebe loved Monica very much, she really did. The woman was devoted and reliable; Phoebe knew she would always be there for her, no matter what, and it was amazing how since the very beginning she felt like she could rely on Monica. The time spent living with her almost ruined everything though – that was the moment Phoebe was almost going crazy with the controlling thing. She had lived on the streets, but it came to a point where she missed having no home because having a home where you couldn't breathe properly seemed like a nightmare. When she left the apartment, she even considered cutting her friend out of her life, but thank all the good gods, she came to her senses and since then the friendship moved on to being one of the most precious things in Phoebe's life.

She admired how strong-willed Monica was, sure, but sometimes it was too much. Seeing everything from a close but also kind of faraway point of view made things bearable, fun even. That day, for example, had been so much fun! Fighting crazy girls over discount was an unusual activity in her life, but it demanded energy and courage (which obviously Rachel lacked, Phoebe chuckled at the memory) so it was fun, like a girls' night in the wild or something.

Monica looked so happy, her tiny body resting on her couch, legs on the coffee table, eyes glued to The Dress. It was one hell of a dress, Phoebe would agree. Everything was okay until the phone rang and that Megan girl they met before tried to force Monica to give the dress back at the threat of booking The Swing Kings on Chandler and Monica's wedding day. That was a clever plan, Phoebe admitted silently, obviously.

"Does that mean Carcass is available?" Phoebe hopped a little, Monica probably didn't think much of this, but what Phoebe secretly meant was "Oh, poor Chandler, no The Swing Kings for you, you gotta settle for the metal band." Of course Monica would never in a million years return The Dress. She had been basically planning the wedding all by herself; Chandler didn't even have a word on anything. Why would she give up the dreamy dress over some stupid swing band Chandler got to know because of a freaking commercial?

Ahead of everything, Phoebe suggested talking him out of it, Monica answering with "How?" signaling that they would indeed come up with a plan for that.

"Okay, we've got to make Chandler give up the band." Monica announced after telling Rachel what just happened when she came back from the bathroom, and Phoebe almost smirked at her face, almost said of course we do in the smuggest tone ever, but her friend was already stressed out over the phone call, so she thought better of it.

"What if we say swing music sucks?" Phoebe suggested, Monica and Rachel expressing confusion in their eyes. Ugh, her friends could be so slow sometimes. "Chandler is always self-conscious about everything, you guys! If we tell him it's lame having a swing band on your wedding, maybe he'll give that up."

The other two girls were finally following "Oooh, that's a good idea!" Rachel was excited even though Monica looked uncertain. Phoebe blamed on the winning streak having to be tamed because some random girl had the nerve to challenge her.

"Okay, so when he comes back, we'll just pretend to be having a conversation and you guys say those things. I've already told him I liked the swing band idea, so if I say something right now he might think it's weird."

"Deal."

__________________________

"Well, it's just… while Monica and I were dancing to them it was…" He turned to her, "the first time I knew that… you were the woman I wanted to dance all my dances with." Oh no, Phoebe thought. So there is a deep motivation for the random swing band. Phoebe felt really bad for Chandler, being absolutely sure that he would have to say goodbye to that. She observed as Monica seemed at a loss for words, torn between smiling widely over that sweet confession and just calling the whole thing stupid so that she wouldn't need to fight for her dress.

"Oh, crap" was all that came out from Monica's mouth. If they were in a cartoon, a thousand question marks would float around Chandler's head because of that reaction. "This is really sweet, honey." She finally smiled at him two seconds later, and he smiled back. They could be so disgusting sometimes, your room is right there!, Phoebe almost screamed. "I'm gonna book the Swing Kings, okay?" Phoebe was surprised. What was Monica going to do? Would she physically force the Megan girl to stop with the craziness?

__________________________

The following day, Phoebe entered apartment 20 at usual time to find Monica getting ready to leave, with a big bag in her hands.

"Hi, Monica! Are you going out now?"

"Yes, I'm returning the dress now. Hey, do you want to come with me when I pick another one?" What? Was she really going to return the dress? Phoebe was almost scared by the possibility of this person standing in front of her being some sort of alien who had devoured her friend and replaced her. Oblivious to Phoebe's reaction, Monica continued, giggling mischievously and pointing to the bag "You know, she'll have the dress, but there's a little rip on the side."

Phoebe was still standing there.

"Phoebe? Are you okay?"

"Yes!" She quickly recovered her usual demeanor "Yeah, I'm fine! I was just thinking that The Swing Kings will be back, which means Carcass will be unavailable again, ugh, bummer."

Monica looked at her oddly, but in that oddly way she used to look at Phoebe almost every day. She could see her friend not really getting the comment but trying to shrug it off as one more Phoebe thing, and the blond woman would rather have Monica think that than noticing what she was really thinking.

All Phoebe had in mind was wow, Monica really loves Chandler, doesn't she? She had all the final words on the wedding, but it's not like Chandler had any strong opinions about anything, really. The only thing that mattered to Chandler was important enough to make Monica give up her dream wedding dress. It was unbelievable.

"So, are you coming with me?" Monica's voice almost startled her out.

"What? You want me to help you kick that Megan girl's ass?"

"No!" Monica laughed, as if that idea actually appealed to her. "As much as I would love to, I don't want to risk not having The Swing Kings available. I meant are you coming with me when I pick a new dress?"

"Oh, yeah, sure! I'll go with you."

"Okay, great!" Monica headed for the door, and Phoebe followed her out, maybe she would stop by at Joey's. "See you later, Phoebe!"

"See you, Monica."

She watched her friend leave, standing in the hall between the two apartments. All annoying habits aside, that woman is great, Chandler's very lucky, Phoebe concluded, as she headed towards apartment 19.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Ross

Chandler & the Wedding Day

No man would ever hurt his little sister and just walk away without some bruises. People might laugh as much as they wanted, even his little sister could laugh out loud at that, but Ross was ready to kick Chandler's ass for disappearing like this, especially after all the time it took to find him and bring him back. Monica had no idea her fiancé had been missing the night before, but if she found out about that adding the extra information that he was missing again, now that she was already in a wedding dress and the guests had mostly arrived, it would be devastating for her. Ross walked around the place like a mad man, and then he finally saw Chandler and was ready to show some class A karate movements.

He hadn't gone missing after all, he just went down to get some cigarettes – scolding about smoking saved for later, Ross dully noted. Chandler looked quite calm at the moment, actually, showing up a cute little onesie and talking about a baby, of all things, as if it was something simple. Where was the man that had freaked out just because he was about to get married? Wasn't he afraid anymore?

_______________________________________

"Well, let's get started before the groom takes off again, huh?" Joey giggled while the rest of gang flinched, Chandler looked guilty as charge and Monica had a confused-slash-shocked face.

During her vows, she was visibly touched. It was just beautiful, but Ross knew that knowing her fiancé took off wasn't going to slip out that easy. "Unless you don't want to." Oh, there it is. She added that little snappy extra line in her vows, and Ross was so nervous he could start shaking any minute. Her tone would definitely not help a scared groom be okay. He hoped Chandler would be able to cope and, hopefully later, make her recover from the shock.

It was his turn to read his vows, and as Ross leaned in to give him the piece of paper, Chandler just dismissed the action.

Uh-oh, Ross cried inwardly, what is he doing?

Well, speaking from his heart apparently. And that seemed to do it. Wow, even I am a little touched right now.

That was a rare moment in which Chandler didn't try to hide his feelings with humor. He was never the type of person to admit his problems in a serious tone, and it was even more unlikely that he would do that while having an audience. Yet, there he was, wearing his heart on his sleeve in public. He just admitted in front of the bride, his friends and all the 128 guests that he had been afraid but that, somehow, by knowing how much he loved Monica, he would be able to get through any surprises that would come their way. He would be able to face anything because of her. He was, after all, facing his biggest fear: he was committing for life.

Ross couldn't decide if that all came from eloquence or love. Either way, that was a good move. Ross knew it wasn't as simple as that; he figured the couple would have to talk about the pre-wedding events later, but he could almost imagine his sister instantly feeling much better about the little problem she just found out by hearing his impromptu speech.

They kissed twice – they would – and everybody applauded at the end of the beautiful albeit unusual ceremony. Well, it was Monica and Chandler. Of course it would be anything but ordinary.

_______________________________________

"And you are both so lucky. I mean, you both said the right names. And nobody was drunk, nobody was gay" Ross could feel his sobs getting the best of him "And at your first try."

Ross could tell it was the first and only try.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Phoebe

Chandler & the Sperm Donor

Girls' nights weren't as usual as they used to be, what with Monica's married routine and Rachel having a daughter, so, at the moment, the little gathering the three women were having qualified as a girls' night in Phoebe's mind.

She wanted a happy, fun night, but when Phoebe had heard about Chandler and Monica's fertility problem a few days earlier, she figured it probably wouldn't be all that happy. She was surprised when she found out Monica was about to tell them good news though.

The girls were sitting in the couch while Monica faced them, sat at the coffee table, telling everything that had happened up until that moment. Turns out Phoebe didn't know many details about the fertility test; the couple was very private about a lot of things. The blond woman couldn't really understand that, as much as she tried. For a second, a little voice inside her head teased of course they are, their friends are always meddling and making fun of everything, but she dismissed the annoying voice by reassuring herself that Chandler and Monica were just weird.

Monica used that moment to pour everything over her friends, and Phoebe wondered why she wasn't desperately crying while telling them about the inhospitable environment that happened to be her uterus. It was just weird how calm she looked, considering Monica was known as the woman of the group that had baby fever. She must be all cried out by this point, Phoebe concluded, keeping the sad implications within the borders of her mind.

"So, we had a conversation after our appointment with Dr. Connelly. We decided not to give up, and Chandler asked me what options I wanted to try. I just told him I was okay with anything but surrogacy. I decided I should be honest, so I told him that seeing another woman carrying our baby would be just too painful."

"Ugh, Monica, I can imagine how terrible it would be for you", Rachel said as she rubbed her friend's arm in an attempt to somehow make everything less painful.

"Yeah…" Monica shrugged, looking down; her face could break anyone's heart.

"So, what did he say?", Phoebe was curious.

"Well, when I told him that, he automatically discarded that possibility, obviously." Monica took a deep breath and continued talking, "But then…" her bitter tone turned into a surprisingly fun one.

Phoebe looked at Rachel very discretely to find Rachel looking back at her; her friend had the same inquiring eyes she believed she was supporting. Monica was somehow oblivious to her friends' expressions – or maybe she just ignored that, expecting them to react that way. Phoebe would never know.

"Then, he went to work, I came home, and he called me to say he would bring a colleague for dinner, I said ok, he showed up with the guy, we were introduced… Anyway, everything was pretty normal. Then, out of the blue, Chandler turns to me and asks me" She cleared her throat to give her best Chandler impression "How would you like to have a baby that's half yours and half his?"

"What?" Rachel and Phoebe said in unison, not able to hide their shocked faces.

"I know!" Monica was giggling.

She kept telling the story, laughing at all the crazy questions the couple had cascaded over the poor guy. Rachel and Phoebe just laughed along, well if she's laughing I guess it's okay to laugh.

At the end of the story, Monica had that face – that one face, with the biggest grin, the one she used to have whenever Chandler had surprised her by being unbelievably sweet.

"He told me he just went along with the sperm donor idea because he thought I wanted that." She had watery eyes, and at the point Phoebe's head was flooded with too many things to even react properly to anything. Rachel wasn't at the same situation though, a hand at her chest, clearly moved, but also asking Monica if she was sure about giving something like pregnancy up, to which Monica simply replied with "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Anyway, this leads me to the big news" Monica looked at her friends expectantly "We're going to adopt!"

Choruses of oh my god and this is so great came out of both women at the same time, the two of them touched and excited about the idea, moving forward to give Monica a hug. She looked so happy it was heartwarming. Rachel asked for more details about the process, but Phoebe was still sorting out all the information she had just gotten.

_____________________________

When she left Monica and Chandler's apartment building, she bumped into Chandler getting home from work.

"Hey, Pheebs." Oh, look, he looks much happier too.

"Hi, Chandler! Hey, Monica just told us about the big news! I'm very happy that you guys decided to adopt, this is so great."

He carried a smile that could light up the whole world while he hugged his friend. "I know." Chandler's voice was almost faint; it almost looked like he was touched too, even though the decision had been made the day before.

"Anyway, I'm leaving now, so see you guys tomorrow."

"See you, Pheebs!"

_____________________________

Phoebe chose the long way to get home, taking a slow walk on Central Park. She did that when she needed to think about things – her friends would never know how cramped her mind always felt.

Her head (and body) was a mix of very strange feelings. It had a bit of worry for her friends, a lot of hope that they would be able to get a baby soon, some bitterness for knowing that of all people Monica was the one unable to conceive even though she dreamed about that since ever, and, as much as she didn't want to admit, she felt a little (a lot) guilty too.

Chandler had offered Monica the possibility of getting pregnant by another man. That was unbelievable; except it wasn't unbelievable at all. Of course he would. Since the very beginning Chandler had done everything he could to make Monica happy. He had even faced his biggest fears because of her, he had had the guts to give up a career he hated because of her, and he was ready to do anything to have kids because of her. Trying to find a man so that the love of his life could fulfill her earliest, most important wish? That was just the cherry on top. Monica hadn't mentioned it, but knowing Chandler Bing for so long, Phoebe assumed he probably thought that getting pregnant by another guy was much better than getting pregnant by him.

Reluctantly, Phoebe thought of all the moments she hinted at Monica that she could do better than Chandler, and those memories went straight through her heart, like a sharp knife, a feeling she knew was akin to the one she would have after eating a hundred cows. He really didn't deserve that; he's always doing the best he can. He really loves her. Phoebe stopped her track to look at the sky. The moon was beautiful, and she thought about David (Mike) and wondered if the scientist (pianist) would ever do anything like this for her. Maybe one day I'll find my Chandler, she chuckled at how ridiculous that would sound if said out loud and just kept walking.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Rachel

Monica & the Adoption

"Anyway, this leads me to the big news" Monica looked at her friends expectantly "We're going to adopt!"

Choruses of oh my god and this is so great came out of Rachel and Phoebe at the same time, both touched and excited about the idea, moving forward to give Monica a hug. She looked so happy it was heartwarming. Phoebe looked somewhat pensive though, but Rachel didn't shy away from asking more questions.

"So when is it going to happen?"

"Well, we've been trying to have a baby for a year, so we'll take a break now, relax a little. I guess we need that, but we'll be contacting agencies soon." Monica answered with a soft smile.

The trio small talked about some things, but Phoebe still looked distracted, so when she abruptly decided to leave, nobody tried to stop her. Rachel would normally take that as an opportunity to leave too, but she lived just across the hall and she still wanted to talk to Monica about some things.

Noticing Rachel's expression, Monica was a bit confused.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Actually, yeah…" Rachel looked uncertain, and Monica couldn't figure out why. "Listen, Mon. I think it's wonderful that you guys are going to adopt, and I'm really glad for you two, but… are you sure you don't want to take that opportunity with the sperm donor?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean…" Rachel cleared her throat, looking as if she was weighting her own words before allowing them to leave her mouth "You've always dreamed about getting pregnant, and Chandler was the one showing up with a potential sperm donor. You could at least have one baby this way and adopt others after that."

Monica not saying anything made Rachel feel a little scared of crossing a line, so she continued.

"I'm sorry, Mon, if you think this is none of my business. Well, maybe it is none of my business. I'm just worried about you, you know."

"Rach." Monica had a surprisingly soft smile "Chandler is my husband for a reason. If I'm going to have a family, I want him to be equally part of the process."

"I know, and that's great! I'm just afraid that you'll be giving up your biggest dream and regret later."

"I'm not going to regret later."

"How can you know that?"

"Because. I don't know what is it with you guys, you must think I'm some crazy woman with baby fever who just wants children no matter what." Monica's tone sounded a little more irritated than before.

"We don't think that!"

"Of course you do! And I don't really blame you, I mean… I guess I came off that way before, but things have changed, and I want different things now."

"Honey, you don't want different things."

"Yes, I do. I don't just want babies right now."

"Of course you do, that's always—"

"Rachel, please, let me finish."

She took a deep breath and decided to keep silent for a moment and wait for whatever it was her best friend was about to say.

"I don't just want babies. I want to have a family with him. Chandler is my husband for a reason. It would be great if we could conceive naturally, I'd do anything to have that, and I still believe that one day it might happen to us, but since it's not likely going to happen any time soon, I'm totally fine with adoption."

Monica ran her fingers through Rachel's hair, smiling at the concerned expression on her friend's face.

"I know you're worried about me, but it's okay, really. It would be really weird for me having a baby growing inside me knowing that it wasn't half his." She laughed a little. "If I can't get pregnant by Chandler, I don't want to get pregnant by anybody else. But, more importantly, I want to have kids with my husband, I want a family. That's what's going to happen. I'll have what I've always wanted. I'm not giving up anything, so you really don't need to worry, okay?"

Rachel was very touched again, tears in her eyes and everything. "Okay. I'm sorry if I said anything mean, I was just really worried about you."

"I know." Monica smiled softly again, reaching for her friend's arms to give her a hug.

Wiping her eyes, Rachel heavily sighed. "I guess I'm going to go, Emma's probably going to need me soon." And she stood up to leave the apartment, "see you tomorrow, Mon."

"See you tomorrow, Rach."

______________________________

When Rachel got to her and Joey's apartment, she saw Chandler just sitting there, visibly tired but looking as if he was waiting for something, while Joey obliviously ate some pizza.

"Hey, Chandler, are you okay?"

He looked a little hesitant. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay, sweetie."

"Okay then, I'm going home, see you guys tomorrow."

"See you." She thought that behavior was weird, so she turned to Joey with a confused expression.

"Oh!" He stopped eating. "Well, he arrived some time ago and was about to enter their apartment, but he heard some muffled conversation from inside and assumed you and Monica were having an argument or something. So he came here to hang out for a while until you left."

Joey noticed Rachel's watery, red eyes and got a little worried too. "Are you okay? Did you fight with Monica?"

"No! Everything's fine, really. Well, I'm gonna go check on Emma."

______________________________

Rachel had been in Monica's life since they were kids, and since very early years Monica would be the one calling her little dolls daughters all the time. Since the very beginning of their friendship as tiny children, Monica had dreams about getting pregnant and having a baby. Thinking about the current situation and everything Monica had just told her, Rachel could only think wow we've come a long way. Monica did change. It would be so easy fulfilling personal wishes when she had Chandler backing her up, willing to do anything to make that happen. The thing is, it wasn't about her dreams and wishes anymore. It was all about their dreams and wishes. Her plans and desires would always equally consider the feelings of two people, because plans and desires and wishes and dreams were no longer about Monica's life only; they were about Monica and Chandler's life. That was amazing. They are that kind of couple, huh? Rachel amusedly thought. She looked at Emma, adoration for her baby in her eyes, and she was sure that it didn't matter where their future babies would come from, Monica and Chandler would eventually be able to look at their own children with the same amount of love.


	9. Chapter 9

Epilogue: The Four Of Them

Chandler and Monica & a New Life

"Can you believe Chandler and Monica have been together for 6 years?" Phoebe said suddenly, coming back with a big mug of coffee.

"I know, right? It's unbelievable." Joey added so quickly it looked as if he was having similar thoughts before his friend said anything.

It had been a couple of days since the couple left for a new house in Westchester, and the four of them gathered at their usual spot in the coffeehouse. Since the moving, they've been talking every day on the phone, and a little housewarming party would be held on the weekend. It would be then one week not seeing Monica and Chandler every day, but the rest of the gang was okay with that. They all decided it would be best to leave them alone, at least for the first few weeks – they had two babies, after all, and had just moved in to a new house. They needed some time to adjust.

"And to think we always thought Chandler would be the last one to get married." Rachel laughed.

"Hey, you know what I just realized? Chandler and Monica are parents, I'm married, you guys have a daughter and are living together… Hey, Joey, don't you think it's time to settle down?"

"No way", he scoffed. "You're not allowed to go through the commitment tunnel with more than one woman, so I'm not even close to being ready to settle down." The girls just shook their heads at him, Ross laughed.

"I know who's the next couple to get married though." Phoebe hinted, not so subtly winking at Ross.

"Phoebe!" Ross was clearly nervous, than mustered a very intense puppy face when tentatively looking at Rachel. She didn't seem fazed at all.

"Oh, honey, come on. After living together and having a child together with you, I don't think it's that necessary to slow things down."

"That's what I said!" Joey whined, memories of the non-proposal from two years earlier making him wince.

"Hey, do you think Chandler is freaking out with taking care of the babies?" Ross wondered out loud, earning laughter from the other three people.

"I don't think so, I think he managed to get ready for that right under our nose", Rachel said in a wistful tone.

"They've come a long way, haven't they?" the paleontologist was so into his emotional thoughts he didn't see the noticeable touched faces on the rest of the group.

"They're both so weird and crazy…" Joey mused "I guess that's why they work out so well."

"Do you think we'll ever have what they have?" Phoebe's thought unintentionally slipped from her mouth before she sipped the last of her coffee.

"Honestly, Pheebs, I don't know. But let's hope we have something that is pretty close." Rachel intertwined her fingers with Ross's, giving him a little nudge. "Well, I gotta go to work."

"Actually, me too."

"Boy, you just reminded me I have an audition."

"Ooh, and I've got a massage client."

The gang got up, ready to leave.

"I wonder what we'll get those guys as a gift in their golden anniversary." The blond woman said as she grabbed her jacket.

"Do we have to give them presents for that? It's Monica and Chandler!" Joey whined, the rest of the group laughing as they left Central Perk.


End file.
